The No. 5 Arundel boys basketball team is athletic and versatile, quick and strong, and can beat opponents a number of ways.
Ask Arundel coach Jeff Starr what the team's biggest strength is, however, and he doesn't hesitate: balance.
By design, the Wildcats have spread the wealth on offense, and it has paid dividends with a 13-1 record that includes an 8-0 Anne Arundel mark heading into Tuesday's game against county foe Chesapeake.
Four players - R.J. Harris (13.8 points per game), Brandon Belt (13.0), Tyler Washington (12.4) and Terrell Tullis (11.1) - average double figures and Sharahd Conley (9.5) and Zach Lynch (8.0) aren't far behind.
"That's been our philosophy at Arundel. We have so many different guys that can score, teams can't concentrate on stopping just one player. We're always trying to stay balanced and the guys enjoy playing together and have really bought into it," Starr said.
The Wildcats are averaging 76 points per game and 18 assists. Starr said another key has been rebounding. With Washington (12.4 rebounds per game) and Harris (9.3) limiting opponents to one shot and quickly getting the ball out, the Wildcats have been able to convert in transition.
"We know if we keep moving the ball and keep the floor spread, shots will come and good things will happen," Starr said.
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Glenn Graham
Rams sprinter breaks record
Digital Harbor's Alyssa McClure set a Baltimore City record with her time of 6.96 seconds in winning the 55-meter dash at the Montgomery Invitational this month. That performance has been just one highlight of a spectacular indoor season for the senior sprinter.
McClure enters Friday's Baltimore City indoor track championship meet undefeated in both the 55 and 300. That time of 6.96 is ranked first in the United States, according to Dyestat.com, and the 800 relay McClure runs on has been ranked in the top 10 nationally.
She has yet to lose in the 55 or the 300 and is being recruited by many schools, including Miami, Ohio State, Louisville, South Carolina and Texas Christian. McClure is also a member of the National Honor Society.
Digital Harbor coach Lutalo Bakari said they changed McClure's training after last spring's outdoor track season, a move that's paying big dividends now.
"We've taken a whole new approach with Alyssa as far as her development goes," Bakari said. "This summer, she worked tremendously with [Northwestern] coach Jerry Molyneaux and I ... on speed and strength."
- Jeff Seidel
Falcons wrestlers win 'Battle'
No. 2 Winters Mill won its fifth "Battle by the Bay" title in the past six years Saturday at St. Michaels High, thanks in large part to Myzar Mendoza (125 pounds), Gus Mohlhenrich (152), and Justin Kozera (215). All three pinned their way through the finals to earn titles.
Mohlhenrich won his fourth BBB title - the first wrestler to accomplish that feat - and earned his 100th career win. The performance earned him the Heavyweights Outstanding Wrestler Award, given to the top performer between 145 and 285 pounds. Mendoza earned the lightweights award. Junior Keith Steine (130 pounds) won a silver medal.
St. Paul's finished second in the tournament with 447 points, well behind Winters Mill's 526. St. Vincent Pallotti was fifth (379), Meade finished eighth (270) and Joppatowne took 11th (181).
- Sandra McKee
Cardinals wait for spring
The forecast may say snow ahead, but Calvert Hall baseball coach Lou Eckerl is already thinking baseball.
The coach saw his playing field, Carlo Crispino Stadium, named the 2009 National Field of the Year by the National High School Baseball Coaches Association last month, and this week has been running a camp for 75 kids between the ages of 6 and 15, teaching many of the younger ones how to pitch and catch.
"Our whole team is out here helping with the instruction," Eckerl said. "It's gearing us up for the season. And we have four or five other high school teams in here working out, too."
Eckerl, whose team was 26-4 last year and won its fifth straight MIAA A Conference title, said he and his staff are "schmoozing the young kids as best we can" in hopes they'll chose Calvert Hall for their baseball futures.
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Sandra McKee